Merger First or Elections First?

TGSRTC staff seek clarity

metro india news I hyderabad

A key question is currently troubling employees and workers of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC): will the government first conduct trade union elections or move ahead with the long-pending proposal to merge RTC with the State government? With different signals emerging from various quarters of the government, uncertainty and curiosity have grown among RTC employees over which decision will be implemented first.

The issue gained prominence after RTC workers served a strike notice and launched an agitation in accordance with established procedures. In response, the government initiated talks and constituted a ministerial committee comprising Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu, among others, to hold discussions with the unions and persuade workers to withdraw the strike.

During talks held on April 24, leaders of RTC workers’ unions and the Joint Action Committee urged the government to immediately conduct recognition union elections. They also requested that representatives of the recognised union be included in the officials’ committee and that steps be taken toward merging RTC with the government, with a clear timeline for implementation.

According to union representatives, the ministerial committee assured them that elections would be conducted first and that recognised union representatives would subsequently be included in discussions on the merger process. Following these assurances, workers withdrew their strike. However, during a May Day meeting with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on May 1, the discussion took a different turn. Congratulating workers for withdrawing the strike, 

the Chief Minister reportedly asked union representatives whether they preferred RTC’s merger with the government or the conduct of union elections. After consulting among themselves, union leaders conveyed that their priority was the merger of RTC with the government. The decision was also submitted to the Chief Minister in writing, and he reportedly assured them that the government would proceed based on their preference.

More than 40 days have passed since these developments, but no formal decision has been announced. Workers say that if elections were the priority, they could have been completed by now. Likewise, if the government intended to proceed with the merger, it could have issued the necessary notification and declared the appointed day through a Gazette order. The absence of clarity has led to confusion and growing dissatisfaction among employees.

While some workers believe elections should be held first so that recognised union representatives can participate in official discussions and safeguard workers’ interests during the merger process, others want the government to directly implement the merger. RTC employees are now urging the government to clearly announce its decision and move forward either with union elections or the merger process without further delay. They have also demanded that, if elections are chosen, they should be conducted within a month and the uncertainty surrounding the issue be brought to an end